Bicycle carrier

ABSTRACT

A rack for carrying a bicycle on a vehicle. The rack includes forward and rear crossbars extending across a top surface of the vehicle and a pair of tower bodies associated with each crossbar to secure the crossbars to the vehicle. A wheel mount is attached to a first one of the crossbars. The wheel mount is adapted to support a wheel of the bicycle with a lowest point on the wheel positioned over a range of positions relative to the crossbar including with the lowest point positioned off the wheel mount.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/629,026 filed Jul. 28, 2003 issue as U.S. Pat. No. 6,938,782 which isa continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/196,330 issued asU.S. Pat. No. 6,601,712, which application is a divisional applicationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/910,649 issued as U.S. Pat. No.6,460,708, which application is a divisional application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/447,908 issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,310 andare all incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to bicycle carriers and more particularlyto a fork block and wheel tray used to secure a bicycle on a roof rack.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the growing popularity of bicycling as a recreational activity,vehicles are often equipped with racks to transport bicycles. Such rackscome in many different styles and configurations. One commonconfiguration is a roof rack in which one or more bicycles are mountedto a pair of crossbars that extend across the top of the vehicle.

Various systems have been developed to secure and stabilize bicycles onvehicle-mounted cross arms. One such system utilizes a fork blockmounted to one of the bars with a skewer extending therethrough toreceive and grip the front forks of a bicycle. Typically, a wheel trayextends from the fork block to the other crossbar to receive the reartire of the bicycle. In a slight variation, a short wheel tray isattached to only one crossbar to receive the rear wheel. One limitationof this variation is that the rear wheel must be substantially centeredover the crossbar to avoid creating excess torque on the short wheeltray and/or crossbar. This limitation can be a problem where thecrossbars cannot be positioned on the vehicle to accommodate the wheelbase of a particular bicycle, or where it is desirable to carry bicycleswith different wheel bases.

In addition to meeting the basic physical requirements of mounting abicycle on a vehicle, it is also important for a rack to permit thebicycle to be locked on to prevent unauthorized removal. In systemsutilizing fork blocks, this is usually accomplished by providing a lockassociated with the skewer to prevent the skewer from being opened.Existing lock designs are either unnecessarily complex or notsufficiently secure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bicycle roof rack according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a fork block according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view through the fork block of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a lower surface of a cap forming part ofthe fork block of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view through the fork block of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a cam follower forming part of the fork block of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a view of a lock portion of the fork block of FIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a graph of displacement as a function of rotation for variouscam profiles.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a wheel mount according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the wheel mount of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a clip according to the presentinvention.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate various mounting positions for the wheelmount of FIG. 9 on a round crossbar.

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate various mounting positions for the wheelmount of FIG. 9 on a rectangular crossbar.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an alternative wheel mount according tothe present invention.

FIG. 17 is a side-sectional view of the wheel mount of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A bicycle mounting system according to the present invention is showngenerally at 10 in FIG. 1. System 10 includes a roof-mounted rack 12that attaches to factory installed tracks 14 on a roof 16 of a vehicle18. Rack 12 includes towers 20 that interconnect the tracks to crossbars22. A bicycle 24 is secured to the crossbars by a fork block 26 and awheel mount 28.

The construction of fork block 26 is shown in FIGS. 2-7. As shown inFIG. 2, fork block 26 includes a molded plastic body 30 with an uppersection 32 and a lower section 34. The facing perimeters of each sectionare formed with stepped edges 36 that interlock with each other. The twosections are secured together by three bolts 38 that engage threecorresponding nuts 40. The bolts pass through holes 42 molded in eachsection. A socket 44 is formed at the bottom of each hole on the lowersection to receive a nut. See FIG. 3. The inside end of the socket ishexagonally shaped in cross-section to prevent the nut from rotatingonce placed in the socket.

Each section includes a channel 48 adapted to fit over a crossbar. Thechannel is shaped, as shown in FIG. 3, to allow installation on eitherround or rectangular bars, which are the two most common shapes. Thechannels are sized so that as the sections just come together, thechannels grip the bar with sufficient pressure to prevent slippage alongthe length of the bar. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 50 run across thechannels and are provided with teeth 52. The teeth bite into a pliablecoating that is typically applied to the surface of round crossbars tostabilize the fork block against rotation about the bars. The teeth aregenerally unnecessary in the case of rectangular crossbars where thenon-symmetric cross-section prevents rotation.

The upper section includes wheel tray receiver in the form of aprotrusion 58 configured to receive the front end of an elongate wheeltray 60. A corresponding recess 62 is formed in the lower section. Thewheel tray is secured to the protrusion by a screw that fits downthrough a hole 64 in the protrusion, through a hole 66 in the tray andinto a flat nut 68 which rides in a track 70 formed in the bottom of thewheel tray. As will be described below, and as depicted in FIG. 1, thefork block can also be used with a short wheel tray rather than tray 60.

A ridge 74 runs across the top of the upper section with a bore 76formed therethrough to receive a skewer 78. The ridge is formed with agap 80 at the center and extensions 82 at each end. Metal bearingsleeves 84 are pressed over the extensions to provide a hard surface forthe forks to press against. A security cover or cap 86 fits into arecess 88 formed in the top of the upper section. The cap includes aretainer 90 that fits into the gap in the ridge around the skewer tohold the cap on the upper section. See FIG. 4.

It should be noted that the cap blocks access to the heads of the boltsthat secure the upper and lower sections together. As a result, thesections cannot be removed from the crossbar without removing the cap.Since the cap cannot be removed without removing the skewer, as long asthe skewer cannot be removed, the fork block and bicycle carried thereoncannot be removed from the vehicle.

The skewer is part of a skewer assembly 94, shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, thatalso includes a cam lever 96, a cam follower 98 and an adjustment nut100. The skewer includes a flattened section 102 with a hole 104 nearthe end to receive a pivot pin 106 which pivotally connects the camlever to the skewer. The cam lever includes a slot 108 that fits overthe flattened section and allows the cam lever to rotate thereon. Thepin is preferably press fit through a hole 110 formed in the sides ofthe cam lever on either side of the slot and through the skewer.

The cam lever includes a handle portion 112 to allow a user to pivot thelever. As the lever pivots, a cam surface 114 that rides against the camfollower. The cam surface is shaped so that as the cam lever is pivoted,it pushes the cam follower toward the fork block. More particularly, thecam surface is shaped so that, as the lever is rotated from the openposition to the closed, the cam follower is moved rapidly over the firsttwo-thirds of rotation and then slower and with greater leverage as theclosed position is approached. The shape of this profile is depicted at115 in FIG. 8. The adjustment nut is positioned on the skewer to adjustas necessary for different fork thickness.

The described cam surface profile provides rapid throw with low forceduring the first part of closing where the forks have not been contactedand high force at the end to clamp the forks. As a result, it is notnecessary to loosen the nut to allow the forks to be removed, even whenthe forks are equipped with knobs to prevent accidental wheel loss. Thisis in contrast to the standard eccentric circle cams utilized on priorskewers. An eccentric circle has a throw rate as a function of rotationthat starts small, reaches a maximum rate of change at 90-degrees, anddecreases again until the closed position is reached. See the curveindicated at 116 in FIG. 8. It can be seen that curve 115 has the sameslope, and therefore clamping force as a function of rotation during thefinal section of operation, but has a much higher slope where nopressure is required. With an offset circular cam, the overall throwcannot be increased without increasing the slope in the clamping regionand thus decreasing the available clamping leverage. By way ofcomparison, the skewer clamp of the present invention provides more thanthree-eighths of an inch of throw versus the five-sixteenths or lesstypically found in circular cam devices. This increased throw comeswithout a corresponding reduction in holding force because of the shapeof the cam surface. Although the size of a circular cam can be increasedto achieve a desired throw, the resultant device would have lessclamping force for a given torque on the cam than the system of thepresent invention. This reduced force may prevent adequate grip on thebicycle forks or may make the force required to close the camunacceptably high.

The cam follower has an elongate hollow cylindrical body 118 that fitsover the skewer. The body includes a serrated end 120 disposed towardthe fork block to improve the grip on the bicycle fork. See FIG. 6. Aspring 122 is disposed inside the cylindrical body to bias the camfollower against the cam lever. A smooth cam bearing plate 124 is formedon the opposite end of the plate for the cam surface to slide against.The bearing plate includes a lateral extension 126 with a slot 128formed therein. The flattened end of the skewer passes through acorrespondingly-shaped hole 130 in the bearing plate to prevent thefollower from rotating on the skewer.

The cam lever further includes a lock-receiving bore 132 that isconfigured to receive a lock cylinder 134. The lock cylinder snaps intothe lock-receiving bore and includes a T-shaped catch 136 that projectsout of the cam lever to selectively engage slot 128 in the cam follower.In particular, with the catch oriented parallel to the slot, the camlever can be moved freely between the open and closed positions. Theopen position is depicted by the dashed lines in FIG. 5. However, if thecatch is rotated 90-degrees in the slot, as shown by the dashed lines inFIG. 7, the lever can no longer be rotated to release the skewerassembly. A key 138 is inserted into the lock cylinder to rotate thecatch.

As depicted in FIG. 1 and described above, the rear tire can be held tothe crossbar by a long wheel tray or wheel mount 28. Wheel mount 28 isshown in detail in FIGS. 9-10 and includes a wheel tray portion 140. Thewheel tray portion is cupped along the elongate axis to support astandard sized wheel at two circumferentially spaced points around theperimeter of the wheel. This arrangement eliminates the problem of thewheel tray “rocking” on a single tangent point on the surface of thewheel, as occurs with straight wheel trays.

The wheel tray portion is also cupped in the direction transverse to theelongate axis to stabilize the wheel against lateral movement. The wheelis held in the tray portion by a ratchet strap 142. Ratchet strap 142 ismolded as a single piece and includes a central bridge portion 144, twotoothed regions 146 and grip holes 148 at each end. The ends of theratchet strap are inserted through receivers 150 formed on each side ofthe wheel tray portion. A spring-biased pawl 152 is associated with eachreceiver and includes a circular pad 154 to allow a user to pivot thepawl. Teeth 156 formed on the pawl allow the strap to be inserted, butprevent withdrawal unless the pawl is pivoted to disengage the teeth bypressing on the circular pad. When the ends of the strap are insertedand pulled tight, the bridge portion pushes down on the bicycle wheel tohold it against the wheel tray portion.

The wheel tray portion is held to a round crossbar by a clip 160, suchas shown in FIG. 11. Clip 160 includes a recess 162 sized and shaped toclosely fit over a round crossbar. A split 164 allows the ends of theclip to be spread apart to install the clip on the crossbar. The topsurface 166 of the clip fits against a flat mounting surface 168 formedon the bottom of the wheel tray portion. A bolt 170 fits down throughthe wheel tray portion and the clip and is engaged by a T-nut 172. Asthe T-nut is tightened, the split is pressed together and the crossbaris firmly gripped.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the wheel tray portion can be mounted tothe crossbar with either the bolt in front or behind the bar.Furthermore, the mount can be rotated around the bar. The ability torotate around the bar and position the mount slightly in front of orbehind the crossbar allows the mount to accommodate bicycles with widerange of wheel bases. The longitudinal cupping of the wheel tray portionaround the perimeter of the tire reduces the tendency of the wheel trayto rock on the perimeter of the wheel. This combination of rotationalflexibility and stability on the tire transfers torque created when thecenter of the wheel is placed significantly in front of or behind thecross-arm to the frame of the bicycle instead of causing the mount torotate around the crossbar.

The mount can also be used with a rectangular cross-section crossbar byutilizing a rectangular clip 176, as shown in FIG. 9. Clip 176 isconstructed similarly to clip 160, but includes a recess that isrectangular in cross-section rather than circular. Clip 176 includes aflat side 178 and a stepped side 180. The flat side is mounted to thewheel tray portion as previously described for the round clip and can bemounted in front of or behind the crossbar to accommodate variations inwheel base. See FIGS. 14 and 15. However, because of the irregularcross-sectional profile, it is not possible to rotate the clip aroundthe bar.

In order to provide increased range of wheel base accommodation on arectangular bar, an angled mounting surface 182 is formed on the bottomof the wheel tray portion. The angled mounting surface inclines thewheel tray portion relative to the cross-arm. This simulates in adiscrete fashion the effect of rotation in the case of a round bar. Asbefore, the mount can be attached to the crossbar with the wheel trayfacing forward or backward.

FIGS. 16 and 17 depict a wheel mount 186 having a monolithicconstruction. Mount 186 includes a wheel tray portion 188 with aconstruction similar to wheel tray portion 140. The bicycle wheel issecured in the wheel tray portion by an elastic band 190 with aplurality of holes 192 that is stretched between mounting studs 194formed on each side of the wheel tray portion. The mount is secured tothe bar by a clip 196 formed integrally with the bottom of the wheeltray portion. A slot 198 is formed at one side of the clip to allow itto open up to be installed over a crossbar. A bolt 200 and T-nut 202 areused to tighten the clip on the bar. It should be noted that the crosssection of the opening in the clip is sculpted to allow it to beinstalled on either a round bar or a rectangular bar. In addition, thesculpting allows the mount to be positioned on the rectangular bar at anumber of different rotational positions.

The above-described arrangements for attaching the mount to the crossbarallows the mount to accommodate wheel base variations of plus or minus 9inches on round bars and plus or minus 6 inches on square bars. Thus, abicycle with a wheel base of 32 inches could be mounted together with abicycle with a 50 inch wheel base on a rack with crossbars spaced at 41inches. Alternatively, this arrangement allows the position of thecrossbars to be adjusted over a wide range of positions when mounting abicycle of a fixed wheel base. For instance, an average mountain bikehas a wheel base of 40-42 inches and can be mounted on bars spaced from32 to 50 inches. This flexibility allows the rack to be used on a widerange of vehicle styles. With prior systems, the mounting flexibility ofthe short wheel mount was not possible without using a long-style wheeltray.

While the invention has been disclosed in its preferred form, thespecific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are notto be considered in a limiting sense as numerous variations arepossible. Applicants regard the subject matter of the invention toinclude all novel and non-obvious combinations and subcombinations ofthe various elements, features, functions and/or properties disclosedherein. No single feature, function, element or property of thedisclosed embodiments is essential to all embodiments of the invention.The following claims define certain combinations and subcombinationswhich are regarded as novel and non-obvious. Other combinations andsubcombinations of features, functions, elements and/or properties maybe claimed through amendment of the present claims or presentation ofnew claims in this or a related application. Such claims, whether theyare different, broader, narrower or equal in scope to the originalclaims, are also regarded as included within the subject matter ofapplicants' invention.

1. A bike rack comprising a front crossbar and a rear crossbarconfigured for mounting on top of a car, a wheel tray portion equippedfor mounting at least on the rear crossbar, the wheel tray portionhaving two lateral sides, each side having a receiver for receiving anend portion of a ratchet strap, a ratchet strap having teeth on two endportions for engaging the receivers on the wheel tray, a fork block bodymounted on the front crossbar, a skewer mounted to the body, a camfollower slidably mounted on the skewer, and a cam lever pivotallymounted on the skewer adjacent the cam follower and operable uponrotation to reciprocally shift the cam follower on the skewer.